Quillinan, Edward

(1791-1851)

   He was born in Oporto, Portugal, the son of a prosperous Irish wine merchant. When France invaded Portugal in 1807, the father, now a widower, and his son fled to England. Edward became a cavalry officer in the Army and saw service in the Peninsular War (1808-1814) and in Ireland. He retired from the Army in 1821 and in the following year his wife died, leaving him with two young daughters. In grief he spent the next nineteen years roaming, until in 1841 he married Dorothy, William Wordsworth's daughter. In 1841 he published a three-volume novel, The Conspirators, an account of his military service in Spain and Portugal. In 1846 he contributed a valuable article to the Quarterly on Gil Vicente, the Portuguese dramatic poet. Dorothy died in 1847 and he died at Loughrig Holme, Ambleside and was buried in Grasmere churchyard. Some of his poetry publications: Ball Room Votaries, 1810. Dunluce Castle, 1814. Elegiac Verses, 1817. Woodcuts and Verses, 1820. Poems, 1853. Some of his poems: "Address to a Pony," "First Love," "Interior of Canterbury Cathedral," "The Rose-Wreathed Hour-Glass," "Val De Luz," "Zelinda."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The New Oxford Book of Romantic Period Verse. Jerome J. McGann. Oxford University Press, 1993. The Oxford Book of Regency Verse 1798-1837. H.S. Milford, ed. Oxford University Press, 1928.